ROLEPLAY HQ - isekayla

The camp was dense, smoke from fires choking out the fresh air that the forest provided. Chittering and laughter were silenced as the soldiers straightened, fists across their hearts as their general walked past, mumbling to the lieutenant and the private who had returned from their scouting mission. The news was grave, General Hothstedder was marching to the foothills west of their camp. A warning shot had been fired at the two who were hidden in the trees, boulders being flung, telling them they had been seen. Ayla was stoic, her eyes lazily going over each fire, watching her little children scramble to their feet, saluting her with their highest honors. Inside her mind, she was shattering with each word. “They are marching our direction, we can only assume they scouted out to our camp and intend to invade before cycles end.” The little scout spoke quickly, quietly, her little eyes darting around the camp. “Is that your observation, Lieutenant?” The young man nodded quickly before stuttering out an affirmative. Ayla frowned, the first emotion she had let cross her face that day. Her eyes fell on a certain elf, his blue skin and pale scars catching her eyes before he looked up at her and cheerfully waved. She gave him a sad smile as he tried to wave her over, gently shaking her head no and turning the other way. Segai had been her friend since childhood, the war had brought them closer in a way she had not dreamed was possible. Simply laying eyes on him made her fingers twitch in anticipation, had she not looked away, she feared distraction from the horrors she was being reported.

7:12 PM

“Tomorrow we pack up camp and march to meet them, we will not be ambushed. Lay out my maps and call a meeting with the platoon leaders, they will need to be told immediately.” Ayla watched the two scurry away, fanning out to collect the platoon leaders, the young scout grabbing Segai, who would undoubtedly set up the maps she had requested. She looked up at the moons, the sky bright with their waxing light looming above the camp of doomed children. This war had taken everything from generations, but this battle could end it all. This general she would face was the last who still called for the war to continue. Hothstedder simply wanted to murder, no matter what the cost. The other three tribes had ceased to fight against each other, but hers was still forced ahead since the mountains would not back down. She looked down, crossing her arm across her chest and rubbing the bridge of her nose. She could feel the ground beneath her aching with the loss of its children, could hear the leaves weeping as they became soaked in the blood of her people. She breathed deeply and forced it out, shoving the pain in her chest out with it. The young scout, Maya, ran up to her, saluting her with her fist across her chest before gasping out her words. “They are ready for you in the mess tent.” Ayla nodded, looking the young girl over. She was beaming with youth, no older than thirteen summers. This was her first year in the war, her parents having held onto her for as long as they could. Ayla bent down a bit to look the girl in the eyes, studying her youthful face, the brightness of her soul that permeated her cheeks. “How old are you, Private?” “Thirteen summers, General.” She responded quickly, and forcefully, as she was trained. Ayla nodded, her assumption correct as she pat the girl on the shoulder, passing her by. “At ease, go drink with the others, take a load off.”

7:12 PM

Her feet carried her to the mess tent which had been commandeered by the platoon leaders. She pulled the leather flap back and stepped in, her eyes adjusting to the candlelight and immediately darting to Segai, whose wry smile held her entranced. She did not love him the way he loved her, but she did not think she was capable of that kind of love anymore, not with the ground running red with her comrades' blood. Maybe in another life, she could love him. First platoon leader Haweswood stepped forward, saluting her and taking her eyes from Segai, his words blurring in her mind. Surely, it was something about why they were there. Ayla moved to the table and looked down at the maps, her mind continuing to blur with the pain of this war, blurring with the sudden dread she felt looking over at the estimation of the mountains troops which were heading in from the west. She lifted her hand and held her head, the room silently looking over her as she faltered. “I assume you have all looked at the map…you see that they are moving forward. Our scouts say two to three days until they are on top of us…” She felt dizzy, her mind racing, her heart leaping from her chest. It was obvious to those in the tent that their general wanted nothing more than to cry into the neck of a bottle as she stared vacantly at the little wooden figurines on the canvas. She took a shaking breath and used her hand to move them forward to a clearing, pushing the figures on their side to the front.

7:13 PM

“We will pack up and meet them here, so as to not allow them such an advantage. I have scouted this clearing myself. We can ambush them in the trees. It will require quick work tomorrow and marching through the night. Your people will be exhausted…” She spoke softly, sounding defeated already. “While the platoons are dealing with the front, I will go right for Hothstedder…I will try to end it quickly. Once he goes down, they will no doubt lay down their swords.” Segai spoke up, his voice rougher than usual, clearly upset by her decision. “Why would you go after him?” His fist clenched, blue skin lightening against the chair he held. Ayla looked through him, her eyes dead as she tried to ignore the pang in her chest. “No one here is skilled enough to do the job, not when he holds Negation, but I am the General of this army, so it is my job to face him. I will not throw any more children to his sword than I have to.” He huffed, pushing the chair roughly against the table and stepping into the shadows to stew in his grief. Her mood was seeping into her troops, she knew she had to try to pull them out of it, but no one survived a tiff with Hothstedder, who was to say she would? “Platoons six and seven will be in the middle of the front of the tree line with bows at the ready. The second platoon will have their magicks ready on the ground. The first platoon will deploy cloaking and hold until I signal. Five and Four will be under cloaking as they rush, again at my signal. Bows go off first, then the rush. The rest of the platoons are to follow in waves. I will be in the trees with the archers until I find an opening around Hothstedder. When he falls, I will call for a cease-fire…if I am not alive to call one, whoever is next in command who is alive will call it. My father says without Hothstedder in his ear, the mountain chief will back down and begin peace talks.”

7:13 PM

The room was silent, taking in her explanation as she moved pieces around the canvas map, showing her strategy. It was a nicely planned ambush if it worked. If not, it left her people in the trees spread thin, able to be picked off one by one, unprotected by the people on the ground. No one poked this hole in the plan, they all just nodded along, arms crossed. She looked around at her platoon leaders, wondering if this was her last meeting, wondering if this was the end her parents had wished for her when they trained her so fiercely. “Does anyone have notes?” She finally pushed for feedback. “You might as well kill yourself and disband the army. We don’t stand a chance without you.” Second Platoon leader Donnier spoke up. “I can take him, your opinion is noted.” “No one survives his sword! We won’t even have a body for the cadets to mourn over General!” Fifth Platoon leader Jace jutted in. She looked over at him, frowning. He was of course right. Whatever strange magic that Hothstedder had on his sword made the body disappear, leaving family to mourn not only the death of their child, but the loss of the ritual of souls as well. “I-” Ayla was interrupted before she could speak to her defense. “Why isn’t the plan to stealthily retreat while they are marching?” The Seventh finally spoke up for the first time in six meetings. “We have been stationed here waiting for this massacre, but why?” “Because this has to end. I am the strongest in hand to hand in any of the four tribes troops, the only reason he wins is because he is an elder fighting unskilled children. It is time I show him a real fight. Do you wish to go home? Then let me kill him, no matter the cost.” Segai grunted and shuffled his feet before moving to leave the tent. Ayla cleared her throat, glaring his way. “You are not dismissed…”

7:13 PM

“I am not going to stand around and listen to my girlfriend talk about throwing herself onto Hothstedder’s sword.” He was gone before she could further scold his insubordination. Ayla looked down at her feet, wiggling her toes and feeling the dirt beneath her. She could feel tears choking her in her throat, her head throbbing as she tried to ground herself. “Dismissed, get them ready at sunrise tomorrow.” She choked out, listening to the shuffling as the tent emptied out, leaving her alone with her thoughts. Once alone, the tears welled up and slipped down her cheeks, droplets splashing into the dirt below. She watched it darken, her fingers gripping the canvas map, knocking over a few of her wooden figurines. No one agreed with her, but what could she do, how far back could they possibly retreat before Hothstedder caught up? She relaxed and wiped her face quickly, trying to stifle her emotions, shoving them back down into the pit of her stomach where they would lay in wait for her victory. … They marched, feet aching, sun beating down on them as their feet dug into the dirt below. The army was ahead of schedule, Ayla at the head of the mass. Her sword bounced in its sheathe against her leg, her brow sweat-soaked. Her cloak was off, thrown over her shoulders to reveal the snaking vines wrapping from her shoulder blades down to her wrists. The world sounded dull around her, her heart thrumming and overtaking the sound of the birds and rushing animals. Her mind dulled, and before she knew it, night had fallen, the clearing ahead of her, awaiting their setup.

7:14 PM

Ayla blinked a few times before halting the march, silently, throwing her hand in the air and stopping abruptly. Platoon leaders took the reigns, ushering their people around, pushing them into the trees, holding them back, and hunkering them down, preparing their mages for the harsh task ahead. The morale of the regular troops was high, convinced that this would be their last battle, that the great General Olaharice would take down this final stone in their way. She would try her best, but as her hands grasped the course bark, pulling herself up into its leafy branches. She rested against its thick trunk, looking up into the leaves and closing her eyes. She did not mean to sleep, but she was awoken by a startling sound, sun trickling through the leaves onto her face. A discordant bird call rattled everyone, making them all look out into the distance. Across the clearing, stepping into open view, a hulking man with broad shoulders and sharp ears, twitching around as he laughed and joked with his platoon leaders who meandered with him. They did not seem prepared for a battle, which gave Ayla the chance to release a small smile. She held up her hand in a fist, using her other hand to make a bird call, one only her people would know. This signaled them to hold. The troops silently watched the tired children dragging themselves behind Hothstedder. It was midday before the troops made it to the forest line. Ayla looked down at Hothstedder, fingers moving out into two fingers up in the air, calling two short hoots that went unnoticed by the troop below. The archers drew up their arrows, her eyes closing as they waited for her signal. War is hell…

7:14 PM

She moved her arm down quickly, the sound of arrows whizzing through the air combined with the sudden screaming of their wounded. More arrows came, Ayla opened her eyes and signaled the waves to begin clashing with the dazed soldiers below. Hothstedder was already falling back, strategically placing himself in the middle of his troops. She watched as the first wave hit the front, surging into the group. Screaming and metallic clashing reverberated over the sounds of the forest as Ayla watched. She would have to wait for the front to move further in the forest. Hothstedder pulled his knife, hacking his way through the mixed combat field. Ayla licked her lips, eyes trained on him as her archers continued pummeling the line with arrows, a few knicking their own. She winced, watching Hothstedder grab a young girl who thrashed about with her sword trying to hit him. He grinned as his blade ran across her throat, blood coating his hand as he tossed the lifeless corpse on the ground, continuing his push forward. Finally, after what seemed like hours, he was in the tree line. Ayla stood up on her branch, watching as he slaughtered, waiting for her chance. He moved through the trees, finding himself under her place of hiding, but someone else was below her…Segai. The fool had taken to trying to best Hothstedder before she could. Hothstedder has his eyes trained on him, pulling Negation from its sheathe. Ayla’s chest clenched, and against her own plan, she leapt down, tumbling down and landing on Segai. His sword cut her hand, but she scrambled up just in time to pull her sword and block Hothstedder’s attempted blow. Her chest heaved as she pushed it aside. “Get out of here you damned fool!” She screamed at Segai, the only time she had ever raised her voice to him. Segai did not wait, he ran, a decision he would live to regret as he faced her parents, to tell them of the great loss of their daughter and his one love.

7:15 PM

Ayla was nimble, but not nimble enough. Ayla was fierce, but not fierce enough. Ayla was cunning, but not cunning enough. As the two generals wordlessly exchanged blows, she could see Hothstedder getting tired. His sword ambled back and forth, stabbing almost aimlessly at her. She counted his swings, hoping to find the pattern that she could exploit. Her arm was getting tired and he seemed to have a grasp of her fighting pattern, so she did the untrackable, she jumped up, standing on his sword, switched hers over to her left hand and ran it through his gut. Elation rippled through her, her stoic face cracking a smile as she pulled it out. She should have leapt from her perch. She should have gone for his throat. She should have done anything but gloat. Blood poured from his lips as he coughed and choked, but the beast still lived, if only for a few more moments. Segai was celebrating, the war was over for him, his face only souring as Hothstedder lifted his sword and knocked Ayla off balance. Time moved in slow motion for him. She was in the air, floating as Hothstedder repositioned his sword quickly, too quickly for anyone to do anything. Just like that, its blade raked across her chest, flinging her back. Pain seared through her as her back hit the ground. She felt she couldn’t breathe, the world silent around her, the grass wet with dew…the trees around her were needled…the sound of war gone. Her sword was in hand as she sat up, staring bewildered around her. Her chest began to heave, panic setting in as she looked at the strange terrain around her. She called out for a single person, her voice cracking through tears as her white knuckles turned whiter. “SEGAI?”

7:15 PM

@Al the Killer

Several miles out from the city, pavement turned to gravel that crunched loudly under the rental truck's wheels, a precursor to the dirt road that waited a few more miles ahead. Already, a dust cloud rose up around them, the terrain protesting disruption in the dry weather they'd been having as of late. Granted, California was nearly always in a dry spell these days, even this far up north. The dust was thin enough to see through, but Iris slowed down anyway, ever cautious. That, and glad she'd swapped out her luxury car for a rental for the weekend. The music that had been playing quietly from the car's speaker - a particularly shouty song with a guitar part almost as crunchy as the rocks they passed over - began to stutter out, then stop entirely. "No cell service," Matthew commented, looking down at the phone in his hands to reselect something from his downloaded folder. "Don't a lot of those horror stories you like start with a small group heading to an abandoned cabin in the woods with no cell service for a weekend getaway?" "First of all, it's not abandoned. It's a vacation rental," Iris corrected, ignoring her brother's unconvinced expression. "Second of all, you need a bigger group than two people for a good slasher film setup. The only exceptions are about couples, not siblings. Besides, statistically speaking, you're more likely to be murdered in a densely-populated area than out here." She drew in a deep breath, more relaxed the further they got from the city. "No cell service means no location tracking, either. It's a rare treat these days, for nobody to know where you are."

6:37 AM

Matthew looked out the window without saying anything. He hadn't been so sure about coming out to the middle of nowhere, but Iris had seemed like she needed the break, and it had been months in the making. He'd agreed partially for the sake of her wanting to avoid the specter of her past - a very real, very alive man who lurked nearby on days she might have felt safe, who made sure she remembered that he could not be evaded forever - and partially for selfish reasons. He had spent most of the past eight years in cities, places where food and shelter were available if one held back any resistance to committing minor crimes. He'd always loved the time he could spend in nature though, and a short hunting trip on a long weekend was the perfect time for it. A scratchy meow came from the fabric carrier in his lap. "Mind if I stop playing navigator for a moment?" Matthew asked, looking over to see Iris's nod of affirmation before setting the phone in a cupholder and retrieving a treat from the carrier's pouch. "It's alright, Purrcasso." He opened the zipper at the front just enough for the cat treat to make it through. "We're almost there." The shorthaired orange tabby all but devoured the treat in an instant before butting her head against the hand that had been holding it. She travelled well, because she'd needed to, back when Matthew had first found her. The only difference was how much friendlier she had become. He was still tempted to let her out of the carrier altogether, but the last thing they needed was a cat climbing all over Iris while she was trying to focus on driving.

6:37 AM

As he zipped up the carrier again, he glanced back at the rear of the truck's extended cab, taking another silent inventory. Spare bedding in case the cabin's was less satisfactory than the posting had made it seem, a large cooler with enough quick meals to last them a while in case the hunting and foraging didn't pan out as well as they hoped, another bag filled with snacks and seasonings, cat food, the litterbox and a bag of litter for when they arrived, first aid kit, a pack of water bottles, slightly more guns and knives than the two of them would actually need, and some bits and pieces of equipment the functions of which he struggled to remember. They'd come prepared. "You would've made a good boy scout," he joked, turning to face the front again as they turned onto the dirt road leading to the cabin. "'Always be prepared', right?" "Hm... don't think the family would've loved that," Iris commented. "So maybe you're right and I should've gone for it." The moment of levity was broken at the appearance of a figure on the road in front of them, the sound of a shout from outside the vehicle. Iris jerked the wheel sideways, slamming the brakes to avoid a head-on collision. "Fuck!" she exclaimed, gritting her teeth as the seatbelt kept her from jerking forward against the steering wheel. Drawing in a deep breath, she sat back up. "Why are people always jumping in front of my car?" She gave Matthew a sideways glance. "I'm sorry, it must have been the dust-" "No," Matthew commented, making sure the cat was fine first (the fur had bristled along her arched back and her tail had puffed up, but she was unharmed) then unbuckling his seatbelt. "No, I saw that flash. Came out of nowhere." He glanced over at her and chuckled nervously. "Is this-?" "Yes, this is actually common in horror," Iris confirmed with a sigh. She unbuckled, then reached back to grab a double-barreled shotgun. "And sometimes in the news."

6:38 AM

Matthew was quick to get up once she had the gun, opening the door first as he spoke. "Waitwaitwaitwait," he said in a hurry, before turning to face his sister again. "Let's be... cautious, but not bloodthirsty?" Judging from the way she narrowed her eyes, his word choice hadn't been the best. "I just mean..." He trailed off and looked through the windshield. "It just looks like some girl. What if she's hurt? You are a doctor." Iris nearly protested that she wasn't that kind of doctor, but stopped herself and let out a heavy breath. "Alright, fine. We'll go make sure she's okay. But I'm bringing the gun and keeping an eye on the tree line." "Deal." He stood up, set Purrcasso's carrier on the seat, and approached the young woman in the road. "Hey," he called as he walked toward her. "Are you alright?" Iris followed behind, looking around at their surroundings while the barrels of her gun remained pointed responsibly at the ground and her finger stayed away from the trigger. The forest was quiet, no sign of hidden figures or animal traps set out. The only sounds were birdsong, insects, and their own voices. The glint of metal beside the young woman caught her eye though, and she narrowed her eyes. Why was someone walking around out here with a sword? Meanwhile, Matthew's attention was more on the blood, and the panicked look in her eyes. Something as simple as a LARP camping trip could explain the sword, but injuries and fear didn't have such innocent explanations. "Hey," he said again softly, hands held up. "We're here to help. What happened?"

6:38 AM

@Minezra's Not Okay(I Promise)

Ayla froze, her ears picking up the strange, rumbling noise and shifting of the gravel below. It was large, heading right for her, but when she tried to stand, the pain made her gasp, tears welling in her eyes. She couldn't breathe anymore, having to heave her chest, which with this panic was turning into hyperventilation. She gripped her sword as the car doors opened, trying to lift the heavy weapon unable to. That's when she saw it, her pale, pinkish-white skin, her arm still wrapped in the thorned, ivy vines that sprung from her shoulder blades. She still felt the world's nature around her, which gave her little comfort as her tired eyes narrowed. Everything around her was foreign, and the natural world, it felt choked out and silenced by the inhabitants. She felt it dying all around her. She took her hand off her sword and raised her palm to the man who seemed to be trying to play innocent, using her other to hold her heart, hoping to steady her panicked breathing. She closed her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks as she called to her mind, her mother's face. It was drowned out by their voices, by the war, by the screaming of dying insects all around her. "What is...this...hellish place?" She opened her eyes, only to see the world fading around her, she had to do whatever she could to fight this. She could not be captured. With the hand on her chest, she mustered the incantation for healing. A strange slurry of vowels unheard by human ears before, followed by the tightening of her vines around her arms. Fresh wounds followed the healing of her chest wound, but she was awake, and ready to face the people approaching her. She calmed her panic by shoving it down and forcing herself back into a war that was no longer her problem. She was General Ayla Olaharice, and they should be afraid. "Don't come closer! State your business!" She barked these orders naturally as any others.

8:15 AM

@Al the Killer

It was an odd question, but an odd situation to begin with. Trying to determine exactly how broad a definition of 'this place' she was aiming for, Matthew looked around at the conifers that surrounded them. It seemed peaceful enough out here, but her panic had to have been caused by something. "...A forest in northern California?" he answered, unsure whether it would suffice. "I wouldn't exactly call it hellish." "Unless you consider the state of the planet itself," Iris commented. "How did you end up-?" She stopped as the young woman began to speak. Or she assumed those sounds were speech, though she had never heard anything quite like it. Then the chest wound began to close on its own, those odd vines moving as though by the girl's will alone and creating new, albeit less serious, injuries. The two siblings exchanged glances, his puzzled, hers curious, both a silent way of asking 'are you seeing this shit?' Neither of them spoke right away, since she didn't exactly have the leverage to force answers. Instead, Iris lifted her chin, a silent gesture for Matthew to back away from the terrified woman with a sword that certainly looked real and battle-ready. He stepped back until he stood beside his sister, casting another concerned look at the stranger. "I'll keep an eye out and explain what I can to her," Iris said, not bothering to lower her voice beyond a normal volume. "Could you pull the truck onto the shoulder for a moment, then grab the first aid kit? There's not much traffic out here but I don't wanna take risks." "Sure thing." Matthew took the keys before asking, just to be sure, "and you won't shoot her?" Iris scoffed. "What kind of doctor would I be if I just shot everything I didn't understand? I don't think she'll be a threat unless we give her reason to believe we are." He pointed at her shotgun and raised an eyebrow in response.

4:23 AM

"...Well, it's important to be prepared for the worst. I'm not pointing it at her." While Matthew walked over to the truck, Iris faced the girl again, still keeping a considerate distance. "We just came out here on a hunting trip for a few days. We have medical supplies, food, and a cabin further in the forest if you need help. You don't have to accept, but either way I would suggest getting off the road before another vehicle comes by and the driver doesn't stop in time to avoid hitting you." Behind her, the engine for the truck started again, so she raised her voice enough to be heard over it, only slightly. "And what are you doing out here? What has you so scared?"

4:23 AM

@Minezra's Not Okay(I Promise)